New Delhi:
After France confirmed that an Indian was among the six people arrested in Paris earlier this month on suspicion of terror links, it has now emerged that the said suspect, Mohammad Niaz, could have been associated to groups affiliated to the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) in India.
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram today said that Niaz has been on the radar of Indian intelligence agencies and the government was tracking his case very closely.
Elaborating on the case, Mr Chidambaram said that Niaz reportedly joined a SIMI-affiliated organisation in Tamil Nadu at the age of 21.
He later went to France and formed a network of jihadis that used to meet once in a month which gradually turned to weekly meetings.
French authorities suspect that he was recruiting people to work for the cause of Islam.
But Mr Chidambaram though said that there were no reports yet of Niaz recruiting anyone in India.
In the same vein, he added that the government was in close touch with French authorities since the probe surrounding Niaz was underway.
Niaz who was held at the Charles de Gaulle international airport in Paris earlier this month had allegedly sent two French nationals to Pakistan for terror training.
These two Frenchmen were arrested last January, and their arrest led to the arrest of Pakistan Taliban leader Tahir Shaizad.
Sources say Shaizad had links with suspected Bali bomber, Umar Patek, who was picked up by Pakistani commandos last January from Abbottabad.
Reports suggest that Niaz admitted that he was trying to work for the cause of Islam and trying to defend it.
Reports also indicate that he had been working in France for a number of years as a mechanical engineer.
He also made frequent trips to India where his family resides and also made visited Pakistan.